Sneaked Snickers
by Amy5918
Summary: Somehow, a snickers bar appeared in Meredith's pocket. And DeLuca was wearing the sneakiest grin. / pre-romance / three-shot
1. In which Amelia finds out

**A/N: Just a short one-shot, because I find Mer and DeLuca so sweet that I couldn't resist.**

Amelia Shepherd was currently confused. There was no other way to put it. She was quite simply, downright, mindbogglingly confused.

In fact, if she's being totally honest, since she was actually confused regarding the inner workings of her own brain, she was also currently crazy.

Confused and crazy. Yeah, that's how she felt. Because if what she thought she saw was indeed true, then DeLuca had some explaining to do. And so did Meredith, because… well…

 _How on earth had she missed this?_

"Sorry, Mer, you were saying?"

Mer looked at her strangely, and she wondered if her craziness was visible to the naked eye. She sure hoped not. "I was saying… that although I haven't the faintest idea why, I think the universe is actually on my side for once."

"Because of a snickers bar?"

"Because of a snickers bar." Meredith grinned. "You saw it! How else would a piece of the world's most delicious candy bar magically appear in my lab coat's pocket thirty seconds after I told the minions I was hungry?"

Amelia smirked. "True. When you explain it that way, the most logical, realistic explanation is that it just has to be the _universe's_ doing."

"Don't make fun of me. Just go with it. Delicious miracles like these don't usually happen to me. Hmm, I practically inhaled the entire bar. Oh, Glasses' face... And Deluca's…" She laughed.

Amelia snorted. "Yeah, I saw." She mumbled under her breath, and watched as Meredith walked away wearing an all-is-good-with-the-world-because-there-is-chocolate-in-my-pockets smile on her lips.

******GAGAGA*******

"DeLuca…" Amelia purposely drawled, eyeing the younger doctor amusedly as he jumped. It was barely after 11 p.m., and DeLuca had been standing outside the hospital door without moving for at least ten minutes.

"Dr. Shepherd! Hi."

"What are you doing here?"

"Here?"

"Yep." She leant against the wall, raising an eyebrow. "What are you doing, just standing here…? You do know that the dark isn't going to be any darker the longer you stare at it."

"I'm not staring at the dark."

She smirked. "I know that."

He blushed, and glanced away. Amelia followed his gaze, and predictably it landed on Meredith. As per usual the last few months, whenever she worked nights she liked to use her breaks to lay on her back in the street benches and stare at the sky. There were no stars, it was December-cold, but it didn't matter to her. At least once a shift, she would tell everyone not to bother her for half an hour, and she would go outside.

"I just… it's cold. And it's dark. And she comes out here alone. I just… worry."

"And so you what? Watch over her?" Amelia asked, perhaps harsher than she intended.

"Yes." He nodded, a gentle smile playing on his lips.

She stood in silence for a while, then cleared her throat and patted him on the back. "Good man, DeLuca." She started walking towards the door, and looked back at DeLuca, who was once again eyeing Meredith's resting sillhouette. "And, DeLuca?"

"Yes, Dr. Shepherd?"

"A snickers…? How on earth did you manage to sneak one into Mer's pocket mere seconds after she told us she was hungry?"

Without turning to face her, DeLuca chuckled. "I'm not entirely talentless, give me some credit."

******GAGAGA*******

And so Amelia did. She decided to give him some credit indeed, and watched Meredith's moves like a hawk for the rest of the shift.

Only no more snickers-related situations arose.

No, Meredith didn't receive any more unforeseen gifts, nor was she in any cases with DeLuca. In fact, shortly after 2 a.m. Meredith actually fell asleep in one of her most critical patient's room after she sat in its armchair to do charts.

And just when Amelia was about to give up and go to sleep herself – after all, hiding behind almost closed blinds only allowed her to resist sleep for so long –, DeLuca strolled past Meredith's room and stopped right in front of it. Silently, he went in, and as if it were routine, he grabbed a blanket from the dresser and carefully spread it on Meredith's sleeping form.

Amelia's eyes widened as she saw he actually tucked her in, making sure the blanket wouldn't just fall if she moved around in her sleep.

And then he dropped a snickers bar into the pocket of the lab coat that was folded beside her.

And just like that, Amelia wondered how many times this routine of theirs had happened already.

"Good man, DeLuca."


	2. In which Meredith finds out

**A/N: A second part, since all the comments were so positive and made me feel bright and shiny on the inside :D I decided that it will be a three-part story. Thanks so much to those who reviewed 3**

Meredith Grey had the strangest of feelings. She didn't quite know how to put it into words, but she definitely felt it. It was something between a comfortable bubbling in her stomach or pancreas or some other abdominal organ, and a sense of mystical safety without having actually been in danger in the first place.

She had been finding snickers bars, tangerines and wildflowers every other day for a month now. She'd find them in her pockets, in her locker, in her charts. Her favourites – not accounting for the snickers' deliciousness, of course – were her wildflowers. They were always yellow, always just one at a time, always subtle in size and shape but still beautiful.

And although she liked to think the universe was somehow behind it – it felt rather good to be on its good side for one – she also knew there had to be an earthlier explanation.

"Don't you find it creepy?"

Meredith laughed at Maggie's expression. "How can wildflowers ever be creepy? Or snickers? Or tangerines? Tangerines, Maggie… my favourite fruit in the whole wide world." She paused, a fond smile gracing her lips. "Whoever is doing it is not creepy. It's thoughtful and sweet."

"Well, yeah…" Maggie still looked doubtful. "But when you think logically about it, the fact that someone gets close enough to you to slip chocolates into your pockets without you actually noticing is a tiny little bit… unsettling, no?"

Meredith relaxed back into her chair and let her eyes close, exhaling softly. "Not everything has to be logical, Maggie. Chocolate isn't logical. And I'm choosing to believe the universe's judgement. We've known each other for a while now, and it knows my likes and dislikes. I'm choosing to believe the universe only allows my secret gift-giver to exist because it trusts his intentions."

"Who are we trusting, and what are these intentions you speak of?"

Meredith opened one lazy eye and grinned at Amelia, motioning for her to take a seat beside them. It was almost time for rounds, but they still had a few minutes without having people bursting into the doctors' lounge. "Maggie doesn't trust my gift-giver person."

"Hmm… still sneaking snickers, is he?"

"How do we even know it's a he? It could be a she. Or an it. Well, actually, no, it could only be an it if it weren't human, but since, for the purpose of this conversation, aliens don't officially exist, I-" Maggie rambled and stopped as both Meredith and Amelia stared at her with eyebrows raised. "Fine. It's a he. But _he_ 's still creepy."

"He's not creepy. He's kinda sweet, actually." Amelia shrugged. "I think you should just enjoy it, Mer."

Meredith all but _hmpff_. "And I still think you know more than you're saying."

Maggie gasped and sat up straight. "Do you know who it is?"

Amelia smirked. "Maybe. Maybe not."

"You're a terrible sister. When I die old and gray, I'm leaving you nothing of value or use. In fact, I'm leaving you a four-page list of boring chores that you'll feel you have to do in order to honour my dead person's memory. And you'll die of boredom doing them." Meredith stated matter-of-factly.

Amelia nodded. "Yep, so you've said. I've made my peace with it. I instructed Owen to destroy any letter addressed from you before I even see it."

"You're mean."

"You love me."

Maggie cleared her throat. "I'm still unconvinced."

Meredith chuckled. "And I don't care."

******GAGAGA********

"So, Miss Rose, how are we doing today?" Meredith smiled at the little girl in front of her. Suffering from a rare type of intestinal cancer, the six-year-old was having surgery the next day to try and remove the tumour.

"I'm good, thank you, Meredith!" Rose exclaimed, and her mother laughed.

"She told me she was too good to have surgery tomorrow. She said it's not _procedure_ to have people that are good like her in the surgery room." Mrs. Carter smiled at Meredith.

"Hmm… is that true, Rosie?" Meredith chuckled. "But we were going to have so much fun afterwards, colouring and stuff. You promised me you'd teach me how to draw."

Rose looked deep in thought. "Yeah… I remember that… but I don't think I wanna get my belly open after all. We can colour without opening my belly, can't we?"

Meredith sat on the little girl's bed beside her. "We can, Rosie. But we need to take out the bad stuff in your belly first. I promise it will be so, so quick, and you'll be sleeping the entire time."

"Really?" She pouted, her lower lip trembling. "But I even made you a drawing… Dr. 'Luca said it would make you happy, and I thought if you were happy you wouldn't still want to look inside my belly."

"Oh, sweety, a drawing of yours will certainly make me happy, but what will make me the most happy ever, ever, ever, is to know that your belly has no more bad things inside. Okay?" Meredith eyed her expectantly, a gentle smile on her lips.

"'Kay…" Rose sighed. "But can I still give you my drawing?"

"Of course."

Rose instantly perked up and excitedly grabbed it from under her pillow. "Here, Meredith. For you." She stated, solemn and proud. "Dr. 'Luca said you liked yellow flowers best."

"Rosie!" Mrs. Carter admonished the little girl, playfully. "I don't think that part was for Dr. Grey to know."

Rose covered her mouth and giggled. "Oops!"

Meredith frowned in confusion, and then smiled in a mix of surprise and understanding. The entire paper sheet was covered in yellow flowers and smiley faces. She stared at it for what seemed to be a small eternity, several emotions going through her mind, and heart, and stomach.

DeLuca was her secret gift-giver.

The same DeLuca who had kissed in a half-sloppy-half-softly way at the wedding.

The same DeLuca who had respected her personal space ever since.

Surprise. Apprehension. Amazement. Disbelief. Surprise again. Finally, Meredith's heart settled on a mix of amazement and nervousness, and she smiled.


	3. And The End

**A/N: I can't thank you enough for all the kind reviews, and favorites and follows. It truly made my day(s)! Lost of love for you all! And enjoy!**

Meredith sat on a secret – _the_ secret – _her_ secret – for exactly five days, ten hours and what seemed like too-many-and-still-not-enough seconds. She would have sat on it longer, mind her, had fate not intervened once again.

********GAGAGA********

For five days she went about her days as she usually did. Not accounting for some occasional smiling and some thankfully less frequent anxiety, she was rather pleased with her coping ability. Andrew DeLuca was her secret gift-giver, and she, along with her seriously screwed up and self-destructive brain of hers, were okay with it.

And okay was a perfectly acceptable outcome for merely five days of coping. She had time to reach other levels of acceptance.

Or so she thought.

********GAGAGA********

Just after 10 p.m., Meredith heard a loud bang coming from one of neuro's rooms. She had been finishing up the day's charts while waiting for Amelia.

The loud bang startled her. It sounded like an instruments' tray falling on the floor.

"DeLuca. Don-" She heard Amelia sigh, and curiosity turned into concern.

She reached Amelia's room just in time to see DeLuca's fleeting silhouette disappear down the corridor. As she had predicted, instruments were spread all over the floor. "What happened?" Meredith asked with a frown, eyes scanning the scene in front of her. A young man lay motionless on the bed, and Amelia was turning off the heart monitor. "Oh."

"Yeah. Hit and run. Never stood a chance, but fought like a warrior nonetheless." Amelia sighed wearily. "DeLuca took it hard. He…" She smiled sadly. "DeLuca was the only one who heard his last words."

Meredith grimaced. "Oh." The fallen instruments were imprinting a sense of urgency onto her. She fought the pressing, odd, and unfamiliar urge to run after him.

"He's a good man. DeLuca, that is." Amelia sat down and closed her eyes, tired. "This man died alone, today, Mer. He endured eight hours of me poking around his brain and twenty minutes of CPR, and he still died on us."

"I'm sorry." Meredith whispered, leaning against the glass wall. What Amelia was feeling was something that Meredith knew to be best answered with silence. It was not the first time, nor would it be the last, that either one of them would feel it. DeLuca, on the other hand, had less years of heartache under his belt. His fleeing silhouette appeared in her mind once again.

"Mer?"

"Yeah?"

"DeLuca punched the wall and ran off. I'd bet he's on the benches." Amelia's face was scrunched up between a sheepish smile and a smirk.

"I'm going to pretend you didn't just shamelessly hack my mind, and I'll see you at home." Meredith smirked back, already heading out the room.

"Hey, Meredith?" Amelia called out.

She turned around.

"However _this_ goes, I'm with you, you know that, right?"

Meredith smiled at the sincerity in Amelia's voice. "I do. Thank you."

********GAGAGA********

Meredith spotted DeLuca with relative ease despite how dark it was near the bench he had chosen. He was sitting, his head in his hands and with what looked like small smudges of blood in his knuckles.

She cleared her throat and he looked up, first surprised and then instantly embarrassed.

"Meredith. Uhm…" DeLuca cleared his own throat in an obvious attempt at hiding his discomfort. "Sorry, were you, uhm, looking for me?"

Meredith stared at his tense face, his shaking hands and smiled timidly. "Actually, yes. And I can see that you're hurt."

"Oh, it's nothing, just scratches." He shook his head with vehemence.

"Scratches are never just scratches when they happen to inhabit a surgeon's hands." Meredith admonished almost playfully. "May I sit with you?"

"Please." DeLuca made room for her on the bench, all the while eyeing her, slightly intrigued.

She sat beside him and stared at the sky. "I heard about your patient."

She heard him sigh. "Yeah." Silence. "It wasn't a good day."

"Not your first, not your last." Meredith smiled sadly. "But I can understand how hard it must be. It's an unbelievable feeling… and not a good one… to hear one's final words." She saw him nod. "It almost seems as if we're out of place. It feels as if we're being witnesses of one of the world's greatest injustices. We shouldn't be the ones hearing them, and yet we are. And even if we send their love to their mom and dad, or their girlfriend, or their kids… it's never the same as the real thing and we feel cheated. We feel cheated because they were cheated out of the most important message of their lives."

Andrew looked away, and Meredith could swear she heard a sniffle, so she decided to gather all her courage and grabbed one of his hands. One of his shaking hands.

Shaking, yet strong, yet soft.

"You can cry." She nudged him softly on the shoulder. "I won't tell, promise." She smiled playfully.

He made a sound between a chuckle and a sob and stared at the floor. "Thanks, Meredith."

"You're welcome, Andrew."

Both leant back against the bench and sat comfortably in silence for a while. She kept holding his hand, and after a while he held it back, their fingers interlacing.

"Andrew?"

"Yes?" His breathing was steadier, and he sounded more at peace.

"I have terrible timing." Meredith stated matter-of-factly.

Andrew laughed and looked at her. "Okay."

"I do, it's true." Meredith nodded fervently. "My timing sucks. It always has. And I know it's been a terrible day for you, and I promised myself I'd wait a little bit longer until I was more than just okay with it, but I need you to know that I know."

Andrew appeared undecided between feeling amused and confused. "You know what?"

"About the flowers, and the chocolates, and the tangerines, and thank you." She finished quickly and breathed. "There. Thank you."

"You know? How?" Andrew's eyebrows shot up, and Meredith could tell he was feeling a mix of embarrassment, nervousness and… gladness?

"Amongst other less important things… Rosie." She smirked.

"Damn." He chuckled. "I guess my bribing skills need work."

"No, they don't. I…" Meredith sighed, sheepish. "Can I say thank you one more time?"

"You can." Andrew said, gently. "But you don't have to. I did it because I wanted to."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

She knew he understood what had been left unsaid. That was one of the things she liked most about him. She heard him exhale deeply, and she leant against him, resting her head on his shoulder.

They stayed like that, watching the sky's blackness remain unchanged for a countless number of minutes. Neither was worried with time. Time was something they had.

When they decided to go back inside, nothing immediately changed. Nothing drastically changed the following days.

Only Meredith found herself smiling openly at Andrew whenever she saw him. And he always smiled back. And they would have a silent conversation with only their eyes. And she would brush his hand whenever he would slip a snickers onto her pocket, and keep him company when he stayed over late finishing up his paperwork.

And for now, that was just enough.

And it was just right.


End file.
